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COMMENT | Malaysian former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was convicted of three charges of money laundering, conspiracy and bribery in the 1MDB scandal on Friday.
He faces up to 30 years in prison. He is the 10th person to be found guilty of criminality in court surrounding what is being called the world’s largest kleptocracy scandal (Ng and his legal team may challenge the verdict and appeal).
1MDB is complicated and has dragged on for almost seven years since the scandal initially became public in July 2015. As such, many tune out the hard-to-follow stream of reports about it.
It is further complicated by a local narrative that aims to portray the scandal as a political conspiracy.
Those frustrated with the delays in prosecution within Malaysia and the lack of shame and accountability on display have become cynical that justice will not be served.
Ng’s conviction is, nevertheless, an important step towards...